About NSA


Establishment of NSA

NSA was established by Presidential directive in 1952 as a separately
organized agency within the Department of Defense (DoD). In this directive,
President Truman designated the Secretary of Defense as Executive Agent for
the signals intelligence and communications security activities of the
Government. The Agency was charged with an additional mission, information
systems security for national security systems, in a 1984 Presidential
directive, and with an operations security training mission in a 1988
Presidential directive. Under a 1986 law, NSA became a combat support agency
of the DoD.

NSA/CSS

In 1972, the Central Security Service (CSS) was established by Presidential
memorandum in order to provide a more unified cryptologic effort within the
DoD. With the establishment of the CSS, NSA underwent a major internal
reorganization to become the institution it is today. As Chief, CSS, the
Director of NSA exercises control over the signals intelligence activities
of the military services.

NSA's Role in the Intelligence Community

How does NSA fit into the larger U.S. intelligence picture? The nation's
Intelligence Community (IC) is actually a coordinated network of people and
organizations, all working together to keep decision makers informed and the
country secure. The President, as Commander-in-Chief, has the final
authority over all intelligence collection and analysis.

The National Security Council, a group of appointed senior officials,
assists the President in formulating foreign policy and intelligence
priorities. The Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) is responsible for
directing and coordinating the diverse activities of all the U.S.
intelligence organizations. The National Security Act of 1947 designates the
DCI as the primary adviser on national foreign intelligence to the President
and National Security Council. To discharge these duties, the DCI serves
both as head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and of the IC. The IC
has representation from 13 intelligence agencies, including intelligence
functions in the DoD, Departments of Justice (DoJ), Treasury, Energy, and
State, and the CIA.

While not a military organization, NSA is one of several elements of the IC
administered by the DoD. The Defense Intelligence Agency provides military
intelligence and coordinates intelligence activities of the Army, Navy, Air
Force, and Marines. The CIA is an independent organization whose primary
responsibilities include covert collection of foreign intelligence and
conducting counterintelligence efforts abroad. The FBI is responsible for
counterintelligence efforts within the U.S.

Inside the NSA

The NSA/CSS is responsible for the centralized coordination, direction, and
performance of highly specialized technical functions in support of U.S.
Government activities to protect U.S. information systems and produce
foreign intelligence information. The National Security Agency is the
nation's cryptologic organization and employs this country's premier
codemakers and codebreakers. A high technology organization, NSA is on the
very frontiers of communications and data processing. In addition, NSA is
one of the most important centers of foreign language analysis and research
within the government.

SIGINT is a unique discipline with a long and storied past. SIGINT's modern
era dates to World War II, when the U.S. broke the Japanese military code
and learned of plans to invade Midway Island. This intelligence allowed the
U.S. to defeat Japan's superior fleet. The use of SIGINT is believed to have
directly contributed to shortening the war by at least one year. Today,
SIGINT continues to play an important role in maintaining the superpower
status of the United States.

As the world becomes more and more technology-oriented, the INFOSEC mission
becomes increasingly challenging. This mission involves the protection of
all classified and sensitive information that is stored or sent through
national security systems. INFOSEC professionals go to extraordinary lengths
to make certain that our Government systems remain impenetrable. This
support spans from the highest levels of U.S. Government to the individual
warfighter in the field. NSA conducts one of the U.S. Government's leading
Research and Development programs. Some of the Agency's R&D projects have
significantly advanced the state-of-the-art in both the scientific and
business worlds. For example, NSA's early interest in cryptanalytic research
led to the first large scale computer and the first solid state computer,
predecessors to today's modern computer. NSA pioneered efforts in flexible
storage capabilities, which led to the development of the tape cassette. NSA
also made ground-breaking developments in semiconductor technology, and
remains a world leader in this and many other fields.

It is said that NSA is one of the largest employers of mathematicians in the
United States and perhaps the world. Mathematicians at NSA contribute
directly to the two missions of the Agency: they help design cipher systems
that will protect the integrity of U.S. information systems while others
search for weaknesses in adversaries' codes.

Technology and the world change rapidly, and great emphasis is placed on
staying ahead of these changes with employee training and development
programs. The establishment of the National Cryptologic School as a separate
organization to address the professional development of NSA/CSS employees
and assignees is indicative of the Agency's commitment to education. This
school not only provides the unique training needed by the NSA workforce,
but is also used as a training resource by several elements throughout the
Department of Defense. NSA sponsors employees for bachelor and graduate
level study at the nation's top universities and colleges and selected
Agency employees attend the various war colleges of the U.S. Armed Forces.

Most NSA/CSS employees, both civilian and military, are headquartered at
Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, centrally located between Baltimore and
Washington, DC. Its workforce represents an unusual combination of
specialties to include: analysts, engineers, physicists, mathematicians,
linguists, computer scientists, researchers, customer relations specialists,
security officers, data flow experts, managers, administrative and clerical
assistants, to name a few.

Facts and Figures

   * NSA is the single largest employer in Anne Arundel County and one of
     the largest in the state of Maryland.

   * Human health and the environment are critical concerns to the Agency.
     NSA's Environmental Management Services organization works closely with
     such groups as the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, National Park Service,
     Maryland Department of the Environment, and the Environmental
     Protection Agency to ensure NSA's compliance with all Federal, State,
     and Local environmental regulations.

   * Through NSA's Recycling Program, over 250 tons of newspaper, aluminum,
     cardboard, and wooden pallets are collected annually.

   * Historically, about one-third of the total contributions received by
     the Combined Federal Campaign of Central Maryland come from Agency
     employees and consistently top the $1 million mark.

   * NSA has long been an award-winning member of the Association for
     Commuter Transportation (ACT), a national organization of
     transportation professionals in the public and private sector.

   * NSA's blood donor program has been in existence for 24 years.
     Currently, the Agency is the largest contributor in the
     Chesapeake/Potomac region, donating approximately 7% of all blood
     received. NSA's hemapheresis efforts have encouraged over 200
     participants to make over 1,900 donations.

   * The Agency, along with the Bill Young Bone Marrow Center in Bethesda,
     co-sponsors bone marrow screenings twice a year. NSA has over 1,800
     registered bone marrow volunteers, 6 of whom have been called on as
     donors.

   * In an effort to support employees with disabilities, NSA's Office of
     Equal Employment Opportunity opened the Center for Computer Assistive
     Technology, commonly referred to as CCAT. The Center, which is the
     first of its kind within the Department of Defense, was established to
     provide commercially available assistive technology devices and
     information resources to employees with visual, hearing, or mobility
     impairments.

   * NSA has been recognized by the State of Maryland for its employees'
     generous contributions of thousands of volunteer hours to Maryland
     schools each year -- teaching, coaching, and assisting in various ways.

   * NSA has a vigorous hiring program with special consideration for
     minority and handicapped workers.

For further information contact the NSA Public Affairs Office
(301-688-6524).